Thoracoscopic Deformity Correction

During the last century, the technological advances in the field of spinal surgery had a dramatic impact on the treatment of spinal deformity in children and adults. Before the advent of medications and vaccines, incapacitating spinal deformity was almost inevitable in those who succumbed to tuberculosis and poliomyelitis. In the early 1900 s, Lange began to address this problem mechanically by using foreign materials to stabilize the spine internally. In the 1950 s and 1960 s, owing to the efforts of Harrington and others, the process evolved to create the first generation of modern spinal instrumentation. The Harrington rods were able to correct spinal deformities primarily through distraction. Some of the shortcomings of Harrington rods were addressed in the 1970 s by Luque, who used segmental fixation involving sublaminar wires.